A Pregnant Mother And Her Unborn Baby Have Died After She Was Run Over At Car Wash
I know of a few people who have a weird fear of car washes. While it may sound crazy to some, it frightens the living daylights out of them. Maybe it’s the weird sponges washing over their parents car when they were little or maybe they just never got over my fear of accidentally gunning it while in the car wash.
But apparently, their fears are not that unfounded because at least in this case, the car wash turned out to be a deadly affair.
Belinda Louw, 35, was pregnant and was due to give birth within days when she decided to stop in at the Sasol filling station in Gezina for to have her car washed. Apparently, the car wash was a type where you actually get out of your vehicle and wait for the employees to finish the wash for you.
You would think that it would actually be safer to go through a car wash that way, however one would be wrong.Things started to go down hill from the time when an employee decided to drive another customer’s car, a Toyota Fortuner, to the washing area of the car wash, where the cars go through a detailing process, which includes waxing and polishing.
Unfortunately, however, the employee who decided to drive the car was not authorized to move the vehicle. “The employee, who was not authorized to move the vehicle, decided to drive the vehicle without permission and in violation of the franchise’s policies,” a spokesperson for Sasol said.
The employee somehow lost control of the vehicle during the unauthorized ride, and although reports are unclear of exactly how he lost control so badly in what we can only imagine is a rather confined space.
The car went right towards the waiting area and completely ran over the expecting mother, who was waiting patiently for her own car to be finished washed. The injuries from the accident were too much for Louw’s baby, who was 38 weeks old, and he was killed from the impact.
Louw herself remained in intensive care, under sedation and recovering from several broken bones and internal damage. She has already undergone two operations.This is a tragic story by any means, but probably the most tragic part of the story is that the poor mother, who was due to give birth via C-section, had simply been nesting like most pregnant women at her stage due. A time that was meant to be the happiest time of their lives…
The expectant Mom wanted everything perfect for the birth of her baby boy, whom she planned to name Ryan. The woman’s brother told news reporters that she had wanted the car cleaned and washed before her baby son was born.
Sadly, Eye Witness News later reported that Louw passed away in the hospital due to her injuries.
The car wash employees involved have reportedly been let go from the company.
How incredibly sad!